Having a website is a powerful way to start your marketing but it’s not enough, you need to start getting traffic to it. Social media has this magical way of attracting potential customers to your website and sharing it with their friends and family. An added bonus of social media, it’s affordable and this works for companies who are on a tight budget.

Social media is a great way to market the question that remains now is how do we use it effectively?

Video. When I find a video on the internet that has provided me with informative information I choose to share it with my friends and family. This is the delightful technique of video. If you can create a compelling video about your business or product that is interesting or funny people will share it. Thus, creating your brand to be well known and more people are aware of the services/products you offer.

If you currently use social media you might have stumbled upon the newest sensation in video called Vine. Vine allows you to upload a short 6 sec. video and share it across multiple social media channels. It has exploded in popularity and has become increasingly trendy among the younger generation. The reason I bring up Vines popularity is because industry leaders say that video will be the most favored way of sharing short videos. Having a video that is short and interesting that can steal people’s attention will generate leads and create great brand awareness among all ages.

Photos. Having to choose between a visually pleasing image over a dreadfully long paragraph people tend to choose the image. This reason for this is because people don’t have a lot of time on their hands to sit and read every little thing about your company. If you can provide images that are pleasant to the eye and add them to Instagram or Pinterest people will be able to share them and this will give your company exposure.

A great way to take advantage of photos is to make an infographic; an infographic is a visual representation of data. People are interested in these types of things and making one that is informative and useful will give it a greater chance of being shared across social media platforms.

Contests.People love to engage in something that is exclusive and gives them the chance to win a prize. Consider a contest to be a gateway for people to like and share your page. Not only will people be engaged in your social media presence but this will also drive traffic to your site.